London's Mayor warns PM not to pursue policy of ‘Austerity 2.0'

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan has pledged to work with the new Prime Minister to create the high-wage, high-quality jobs Londoners deserve, saying he’ll always be prepared to put differences aside and work in the best interests of the capital and the country.

However, in a keynote address to an audience of influential leaders at The Centre for London’s flagship London Conference today, the Mayor will also warn that ‘Austerity 2.0’ is not the way forward or the route to sustainable growth and prosperity.

As the city faces multiple challenges from the fallout from Covid, the upheaval of Brexit, the climate emergency, growing inequality and the cost of living crisis, Sadiq will set out his vision for a London economy “firing on all cylinders” through “more devolution, a race to the top not the bottom, and sustained investment”.

The Mayor will point to how he is championing the London Living Wage and investing heavily in skills and retraining programmes, a Green New Deal for London and City Hall’s Anchor Institutions programme.

All of these initiatives are about creating the high-wage, high-quality jobs Londoners deserve, benefitting local communities and businesses, while at the same time helping to address longstanding inequalities and accelerating London’s shift to net-zero by 2030.

Sadiq will say he has a serious, sustainable, inclusive growth plan for London, which isn’t ‘Singapore on Thames or Austerity 2.0’, but about investing in London’s communities to help make sure the city works for everyone.

The Mayor will warn against “swingeing cuts” in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement later this month and encourage him to abandon his predecessor’s notion of trickle down economic gains from cutting taxes for the wealthiest and removing regulations.

Instead, Sadiq will call for Government to deliver “a better Brexit deal, a more flexible approach to immigration so we can access talent, greater funding for green infrastructure and an end once and for all to the divisive anti-London approach of recent years.”

Sadiq will also say “the London promise the idea that if you work hard, you get a helping hand, and you can achieve anything is under serious threat as economic forces are rapidly eroding any expectation that the next generation will be better off than the last.”

Sadiq will once again demand the Government act now to mitigate the impact of the cost of living crisis, which is set to hit the most vulnerable Londoners hardest over the winter. His message to Ministers is clear: “give me the powers to freeze private rents in London for two years, as well as increase welfare benefits in line with inflation and roll out free school meals to all primary school pupils.”

“It is only with this support that the Mayor can build on what he has already achieved – record affordable homebuilding, greener and more affordable transport, cleaner air, introducing a public health approach to tackling crime and continue to continue build “a better London for everyone, a city that is fairer, safer, greener and more prosperous for all our communities.”

By Mark Adair – Correspondent, Bdaily

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